Kanye West Releases Statement About Billboard Awards Censorship

Ethan Miller/Getty

Kanye West Releases Statement About Billboard Awards Censorship

Ethan Miller/Getty

Kanye West’s night-closing Billboard Music Awards performance on Sunday was heavily censored for everyone watching along at home, as he performed “All Day” and “Black Skinhead” with long periods of silence breaking up each of them. The next day, TMZ reported that Kanye didn’t do a dress rehearsal, and a source was quoted as saying: “He knew it was national TV. He’s Kanye. What are we supposed to do?” A representative for the rapper issued a statement today addressing the performance:

Kanye West was grossly over-censored at the Billboard Music Awards. Non-profane lyrics such as ‘with my leather black jeans on’ were muted for over 30-second intervals. As a result, his voice and performance were seriously misrepresented. It is ridiculous that in 2015, unwarranted censorship is something that artists still have to fight against. Although West was clearly set up to face elements beyond his control during the live broadcast, he would like to apologize to the television audience who were unable to enjoy the performance the way he envisioned.

(via Rolling Stone)

Here’s the performance again:

more from News